Load-based detection of an aerosol delivery device in an assembled arrangement

ABSTRACT

A control body is coupleable with a cartridge to form an aerosol delivery device, with the cartridge being equipped with a heating element. The control body includes first and second positive conductors connectable with respectively a power supply and the heating element. The control body includes a series pull-up resistor and switch connected to and between the first and second positive conductors. A microprocessor is configured to operate the switch in a closed state in a standby mode in which the pull-up resistor causes a logical high level of voltage at the second positive conductor when the control body and cartridge are uncoupled, and in which the heating element is unpowered causes a logical low level of the voltage when the control body and cartridge are coupled. The microprocessor is configured to measure the voltage and control operation of functional element(s) of the aerosol delivery device based thereon.

TECHNOLOGICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to aerosol delivery devices such assmoking articles, and more particularly to aerosol delivery devices thatmay utilize electrically generated heat for the production of aerosol(e.g., smoking articles commonly referred to as electronic cigarettes).The smoking articles may be configured to heat an aerosol precursor,which may incorporate materials that may be made or derived from, orotherwise incorporate tobacco, the precursor being capable of forming aninhalable substance for human consumption.

BACKGROUND

Many smoking devices have been proposed through the years asimprovements upon, or alternatives to, smoking products that requirecombusting tobacco for use. Many of those devices purportedly have beendesigned to provide the sensations associated with cigarette, cigar orpipe smoking, but without delivering considerable quantities ofincomplete combustion and pyrolysis products that result from theburning of tobacco. To this end, there have been proposed numeroussmoking products, flavor generators and medicinal inhalers that utilizeelectrical energy to vaporize or heat a volatile material, or attempt toprovide the sensations of cigarette, cigar or pipe smoking withoutburning tobacco to a significant degree. See, for example, the variousalternative smoking articles, aerosol delivery devices and heatgenerating sources set forth in the background art described in U.S.Pat. No. 7,726,320 to Robinson et al., U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No.2013/0255702 to Griffith Jr. et al., and U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No.2014/0096781 to Sears et al., all of which are incorporated herein byreference in their entireties. See also, for example, the various typesof smoking articles, aerosol delivery devices and electrically-poweredheat generating sources referenced by brand name and commercial sourcein U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/170,838 to Bless et al., filedFeb. 3, 2014, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.Additionally, other types of smoking articles have been proposed in U.S.Pat. No. 5,505,214 to Collins et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,894,841 to Voges,U.S. Pat. No. 6,772,756 to Shayan, U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2006/0196518to Hon, and U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2007/0267031 to Hon, all of whichare incorporated herein by reference in their entireties. One example ofa popular type of so-called e-cigarette has been commercially availableunder the trade name VUSE by RJ Reynolds Vapor Company.

It would be desirable to provide a smoking article that employs heatproduced by electrical energy to provide the sensations of cigarette,cigar, or pipe smoking, that does so without combusting or pyrolyzingtobacco to any significant degree, that does so without the need of acombustion heat source, and that does so without necessarily deliveringconsiderable quantities of incomplete combustion and pyrolysis products.Further, advances with respect to manufacturing electronic smokingarticles would be desirable.

BRIEF SUMMARY

The present disclosure relates to aerosol delivery devices, methods offorming such devices, and elements of such devices. The presentdisclosure includes, without limitation, the following exampleimplementations. In some example implementations, a control body isprovided. The control body is coupleable with a cartridge that isequipped with a heating element and contains an aerosol precursorcomposition, the control body being coupleable with the cartridge toform an aerosol delivery device in which the heating element isconfigured to activate and vaporize components of the aerosol precursorcomposition. The control body comprises a first positive conductorconnectable with a power supply; a second positive conductor connectablewith the heating element; a series pull-up resistor and switch connectedto and between the first positive conductor and second positiveconductor, the switch being connected to and between the pull-upresistor and second positive conductor; and a microprocessor configuredto operate the switch in a closed state in a standby mode in which thepull-up resistor is configured to cause a logical high level of voltageat the second positive conductor when the control body is uncoupled withthe cartridge, and in which the heating element is unpowered and causesa logical low level of the voltage at the second positive conductor whenthe control body is coupled with the cartridge, wherein themicroprocessor is configured to measure the voltage at the secondpositive conductor and control operation of at least one functionalelement of the aerosol delivery device based thereon.

In some example implementations of the control body of the preceding orany subsequent example implementation, or any combination thereof, themicroprocessor being configured to control operation of the at least onefunctional element includes being configured to control operation of theat least one functional element in response to a coupling of the controlbody with the cartridge that causes the voltage at the second positiveconductor to decrease from the logical high level to the logical lowlevel.

In some example implementations of the control body of any preceding orany subsequent example implementation, or any combination thereof, themicroprocessor being configured to control operation of the at least onefunctional element includes being configured to control operation of theat least one functional element in response to an uncoupling of thecontrol body with the cartridge that causes the voltage at the secondpositive conductor to increase from the logical low level to the logicalhigh level.

In some example implementations of the control body of any preceding orany subsequent example implementation, or any combination thereof, themicroprocessor being configured to control operation of at least onefunctional element includes being configured to control operation of atleast one visual, audio or haptic indicator.

In some example implementations of the control body of any preceding orany subsequent example implementation, or any combination thereof, thecontrol body further comprises a voltage divider connected to andbetween the second positive conductor and microprocessor, referenced toground, and from which the microprocessor is configured to measure thevoltage at the second positive conductor.

In some example implementations of the control body of any preceding orany subsequent example implementation, or any combination thereof, thecontrol body further comprises a second switch connected to and betweenthe voltage divider and ground, the microprocessor being configured tooperate the second switch in an open state in the standby mode.

In some example implementations of the control body of any preceding orany subsequent example implementation, or any combination thereof, thevoltage divider includes an output connected to the microprocessor andfrom which the microprocessor is configured to measure the voltage atthe second positive conductor, and the control body further comprises acapacitor connected to and between the output and ground.

In some example implementations of the control body of any preceding orany subsequent example implementation, or any combination thereof, themicroprocessor is further configured to operate the switch in an openstate in an active mode in which the control body is coupled with thecartridge, the microprocessor is configured to direct power to theheating element to activate and vaporize components of the aerosolprecursor composition, and in which the voltage at the second positiveconductor corresponds to a positive heating element voltage, and whereinin the active mode, the microprocessor is configured to measure thepositive heating element voltage and control the power directed to theheating element based thereon.

In some example implementations of the control body of any preceding orany subsequent example implementation, or any combination thereof, thecontrol body further comprises a voltage divider connected to andbetween the second positive conductor and microprocessor, referenced toground, and from which the microprocessor is configured to measure thepositive heating element voltage; and a second switch connected to andbetween the voltage divider and ground, the microprocessor beingconfigured to operate the second switch in a closed state in the activemode.

In some example implementations of the control body of any preceding orany subsequent example implementation, or any combination thereof, themicroprocessor being configured to direct power to the heating elementand control the power directed to the heating element includes beingconfigured to at least: direct power from a power source to turn theheating element on and commensurately initiate a heating time period;and at a periodic rate until expiration of the heating time period,determine a moving window of measurements of instantaneous actual powerdirected to the heating element, each measurement of the window ofmeasurements being determined as a product of the positive heatingelement voltage and a current through the heating element; calculate asimple moving average power directed to the heating element based on themoving window of measurements of instantaneous actual power; compare thesimple moving average power to a selected power set point associatedwith the power source; and adjust the power directed to the heatingelement so as to turn the heating element off or on at the periodic rateat each instance in which the simple moving average power isrespectively above or below the selected power set point.

In some example implementations, a method is provided for controlling acontrol body coupleable with a cartridge that is equipped with a heatingelement and contains an aerosol precursor composition, the control bodybeing coupleable with the cartridge to form an aerosol delivery devicein which the heating element is configured to activate and vaporizecomponents of the aerosol precursor composition, the control bodyincluding a first positive conductor connectable with a power supply, asecond positive conductor connectable with the heating element, and aseries pull-up resistor and switch connected to and between the firstpositive conductor and second positive conductor, the switch beingconnected to and between the pull-up resistor and second positiveconductor. The method comprises operating the switch in a closed statein a standby mode in which the pull-up resistor is configured to cause alogical high level of voltage at the second positive conductor when thecontrol body is uncoupled with the cartridge, and in which the heatingelement is unpowered causes a logical low level of the voltage at thesecond positive conductor when the control body is coupled with thecartridge; measuring the voltage at the second positive conductor; andcontrolling operation of at least one functional element of the aerosoldelivery device based on the voltage measured at the second positiveconductor.

In some example implementations of the method of the preceding or anysubsequent example implementation, or any combination thereof,controlling operation of the at least one functional element includescontrolling operation of the at least one functional element in responseto a coupling of the control body with the cartridge that causes thevoltage at the second positive conductor to decrease from the logicalhigh level to the logical low level.

In some example implementations of the method of any preceding or anysubsequent example implementation, or any combination thereof,controlling operation of the at least one functional element includescontrolling operation of the at least one functional element in responseto an uncoupling of the control body with the cartridge that causes thevoltage at the second positive conductor to increase from the logicallow level to the logical high level.

In some example implementations of the method of any preceding or anysubsequent example implementation, or any combination thereof,controlling operation of at least one functional element includescontrolling operation of at least one visual, audio or haptic indicator.

In some example implementations of the method of any preceding or anysubsequent example implementation, or any combination thereof, thecontrol body further includes a voltage divider connected to the secondpositive conductor and referenced to ground, and wherein measuring thevoltage at the second positive conductor includes measuring the voltagefrom the voltage divider.

In some example implementations of the method of any preceding or anysubsequent example implementation, or any combination thereof, thecontrol body further includes a second switch connected to and betweenthe voltage divider and ground, and wherein the method further comprisesoperating the second switch in an open state in the standby mode.

In some example implementations of the method of any preceding or anysubsequent example implementation, or any combination thereof, thevoltage divider includes an output, and the control body furthercomprises a capacitor connected to and between the output and ground,and wherein measuring the voltage at the second positive conductorincludes measuring the voltage from the output of the voltage divider.

In some example implementations of the method of any preceding or anysubsequent example implementation, or any combination thereof, themethod further comprises operating the switch in an open state in anactive mode in which the control body is coupled with the cartridge; andin which the method further comprises, directing power to the heatingelement to activate and vaporize components of the aerosol precursorcomposition, and in which the voltage at the second positive conductorcorresponds to a positive heating element voltage; measuring thepositive heating element voltage; and controlling the power directed tothe heating element based thereon.

In some example implementations of the method of any preceding or anysubsequent example implementation, or any combination thereof, thecontrol body further includes a voltage divider connected to the secondpositive conductor and referenced to ground, and includes a secondswitch connected to and between the voltage divider and ground, whereinmeasuring the positive heating element voltage includes measuring thepositive heating element voltage from the voltage divider, and whereinthe method further comprises operating the second switch in a closedstate in the active mode. In some example implementations of the methodof any preceding or any subsequent example implementation, or anycombination thereof, directing power to the heating element andcontrolling the power directed to the heating element includes at least:directing power from a power source to turn the heating element on andcommensurately initiate a heating time period; and at a periodic rateuntil expiration of the heating time period, determining a moving windowof measurements of instantaneous actual power directed to the heatingelement, each measurement of the window of measurements being determinedas a product of the positive heating element voltage and a currentthrough the heating element; calculating a simple moving average powerdirected to the heating element based on the moving window ofmeasurements of instantaneous actual power; comparing the simple movingaverage power to a selected power set point associated with the powersource; and adjusting the power directed to the heating element so as toturn the heating element off or on at the periodic rate at each instancein which the simple moving average power is respectively above or belowthe selected power set point.

These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the presentdisclosure will be apparent from a reading of the following detaileddescription together with the accompanying drawings, which are brieflydescribed below. The present disclosure includes any combination of two,three, four or more features or elements set forth in this disclosure,regardless of whether such features or elements are expressly combinedor otherwise recited in a specific example implementation describedherein. This disclosure is intended to be read holistically such thatany separable features or elements of the disclosure, in any of itsaspects and example implementations, should be viewed as intended,namely to be combinable, unless the context of the disclosure clearlydictates otherwise.

It will therefore be appreciated that this Brief Summary is providedmerely for purposes of summarizing some example implementations so as toprovide a basic understanding of some aspects of the disclosure.Accordingly, it will be appreciated that the above described exampleimplementations are merely examples and should not be construed tonarrow the scope or spirit of the disclosure in any way. Other exampleimplementations, aspects and advantages will become apparent from thefollowing detailed description taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings which illustrate, by way of example, theprinciples of some described example implementations.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING(S)

Having thus described the disclosure in the foregoing general terms,reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, which are notnecessarily drawn to scale, and wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates a side view of an aerosol delivery device including acartridge coupled to a control body according to an exampleimplementation of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a partially cut-away view of the aerosol delivery deviceaccording to various example implementations;

FIGS. 3-7 illustrate various elements of a control body and cartridge ofthe aerosol delivery device, according to various exampleimplementations; and

FIG. 8 illustrates various operations in a method of controlling acontrol body coupleable with a cartridge, according to exampleimplementations.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure will now be described more fully hereinafter withreference to example implementations thereof. These exampleimplementations are described so that this disclosure will be thoroughand complete, and will fully convey the scope of the disclosure to thoseskilled in the art. Indeed, the disclosure may be embodied in manydifferent forms and should not be construed as limited to theimplementations set forth herein; rather, these implementations areprovided so that this disclosure will satisfy applicable legalrequirements. As used in the specification and the appended claims, thesingular forms “a,” “an,” “the” and the like include plural referentsunless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

As described hereinafter, example implementations of the presentdisclosure relate to aerosol delivery systems. Aerosol delivery systemsaccording to the present disclosure use electrical energy to heat amaterial (preferably without combusting the material to any significantdegree) to form an inhalable substance; and components of such systemshave the form of articles most preferably are sufficiently compact to beconsidered hand-held devices. That is, use of components of preferredaerosol delivery systems does not result in the production of smoke inthe sense that aerosol results principally from by-products ofcombustion or pyrolysis of tobacco, but rather, use of those preferredsystems results in the production of vapors resulting fromvolatilization or vaporization of certain components incorporatedtherein. In some example implementations, components of aerosol deliverysystems may be characterized as electronic cigarettes, and thoseelectronic cigarettes most preferably incorporate tobacco and/orcomponents derived from tobacco, and hence deliver tobacco derivedcomponents in aerosol form.

Aerosol generating pieces of certain preferred aerosol delivery systemsmay provide many of the sensations (e.g., inhalation and exhalationrituals, types of tastes or flavors, organoleptic effects, physicalfeel, use rituals, visual cues such as those provided by visibleaerosol, and the like) of smoking a cigarette, cigar or pipe that isemployed by lighting and burning tobacco (and hence inhaling tobaccosmoke), without any substantial degree of combustion of any componentthereof. For example, the user of an aerosol generating piece of thepresent disclosure can hold and use that piece much like a smokeremploys a traditional type of smoking article, draw on one end of thatpiece for inhalation of aerosol produced by that piece, take or drawpuffs at selected intervals of time, and the like.

Aerosol delivery systems of the present disclosure also can becharacterized as being vapor-producing articles or medicament deliveryarticles. Thus, such articles or devices can be adapted so as to provideone or more substances (e.g., flavors and/or pharmaceutical activeingredients) in an inhalable form or state. For example, inhalablesubstances can be substantially in the form of a vapor (i.e., asubstance that is in the gas phase at a temperature lower than itscritical point). Alternatively, inhalable substances can be in the formof an aerosol (i.e., a suspension of fine solid particles or liquiddroplets in a gas). For purposes of simplicity, the term “aerosol” asused herein is meant to include vapors, gases and aerosols of a form ortype suitable for human inhalation, whether or not visible, and whetheror not of a form that might be considered to be smoke-like.

Aerosol delivery systems of the present disclosure generally include anumber of components provided within an outer body or shell, which maybe referred to as a housing. The overall design of the outer body orshell can vary, and the format or configuration of the outer body thatcan define the overall size and shape of the aerosol delivery device canvary. Typically, an elongated body resembling the shape of a cigaretteor cigar can be a formed from a single, unitary housing or the elongatedhousing can be formed of two or more separable bodies. For example, anaerosol delivery device can comprise an elongated shell or body that canbe substantially tubular in shape and, as such, resemble the shape of aconventional cigarette or cigar. In one example, the aerosol deliverydevice can comprise two or more housings that are joined and areseparable. For example, an aerosol delivery device can possess at oneend a control body comprising a housing containing one or more reusablecomponents (e.g., a rechargeable battery and various electronics forcontrolling the operation of that article), and at the other end andremovably coupleable thereto, an outer body or shell containing adisposable portion (e.g., a disposable flavor-containing cartridge).

Aerosol delivery systems of the present disclosure most preferablycomprise some combination of a power source (i.e., an electrical powersource), at least one control component (e.g., means for actuating,controlling, regulating and ceasing power for heat generation, such asby controlling electrical current flow the power source to othercomponents of the article—e.g., a microprocessor, individually or aspart of a microcontroller), a heater or heat generation member (e.g., anelectrical resistance heating element or other component, which alone orin combination with one or more further elements may be commonlyreferred to as an “atomizer”), an aerosol precursor composition (e.g.,commonly a liquid capable of yielding an aerosol upon application ofsufficient heat, such as ingredients commonly referred to as “smokejuice,” “e-liquid” and “e-juice”), and a mouthend region or tip forallowing draw upon the aerosol delivery device for aerosol inhalation(e.g., a defined airflow path through the article such that aerosolgenerated can be withdrawn therefrom upon draw).

More specific formats, configurations and arrangements of componentswithin the aerosol delivery systems of the present disclosure will beevident in light of the further disclosure provided hereinafter.Additionally, the selection and arrangement of various aerosol deliverysystem components can be appreciated upon consideration of thecommercially available electronic aerosol delivery devices, such asthose representative products referenced in background art section ofthe present disclosure.

In various examples, an aerosol delivery device can comprise a reservoirconfigured to retain the aerosol precursor composition. The reservoirparticularly can be formed of a porous material (e.g., a fibrousmaterial) and thus may be referred to as a porous substrate (e.g., afibrous substrate).

A fibrous substrate useful as a reservoir in an aerosol delivery devicecan be a woven or nonwoven material formed of a plurality of fibers orfilaments and can be formed of one or both of natural fibers andsynthetic fibers. For example, a fibrous substrate may comprise afiberglass material. In particular examples, a cellulose acetatematerial can be used. In other example implementations, a carbonmaterial can be used. A reservoir may be substantially in the form of acontainer and may include a fibrous material included therein.

FIG. 1 illustrates a side view of an aerosol delivery device 100including a control body 102 and a cartridge 104, according to variousexample implementations of the present disclosure. In particular, FIG. 1illustrates the control body and the cartridge coupled to one another.The control body and the cartridge may be detachably aligned in afunctioning relationship. Various mechanisms may connect the cartridgeto the control body to result in a threaded engagement, a press-fitengagement, an interference fit, a magnetic engagement or the like. Theaerosol delivery device may be substantially rod-like, substantiallytubular shaped, or substantially cylindrically shaped in some exampleimplementations when the cartridge and the control body are in anassembled configuration. The cartridge and control body may includeseparate, respective housings or outer bodies, which may be formed ofany of a number of different materials. The housing may be formed of anysuitable, structurally-sound material. In some examples, the housing maybe formed of a metal or alloy, such as stainless steel, aluminum or thelike. Other suitable materials include various plastics (e.g.,polycarbonate), metal-plating over plastic and the like.

In some example implementations, one or both of the control body 102 orthe cartridge 104 of the aerosol delivery device 100 may be referred toas being disposable or as being reusable. For example, the control bodymay have a replaceable battery or a rechargeable battery and thus may becombined with any type of recharging technology, including connection toa typical alternating current electrical outlet, connection to a carcharger (i.e., a cigarette lighter receptacle), and connection to acomputer, such as through a universal serial bus (USB) cable orconnector. Further, in some example implementations, the cartridge maycomprise a single-use cartridge, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,910,639to Chang et al., which is incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety.

FIG. 2 more particularly illustrates the aerosol delivery device 100, inaccordance with some example implementations. As seen in the cut-awayview illustrated therein, again, the aerosol delivery device cancomprise a control body 102 and a cartridge 104. As illustrated in FIG.2, the control body can be formed of a control body shell 206 that caninclude a control component 208 (e.g., a microprocessor, individually oras part of a microcontroller), a flow sensor 210, a battery 212 and oneor more light-emitting diodes (LEDs) 214, and such components can bevariably aligned. The LED may be one example of a suitable visualindicator with which the aerosol delivery device 100 may be equipped.Other indicators such as audio indicators (e.g., speakers), hapticindicators (e.g., vibration motors) or the like can be included inaddition to or as an alternative to visual indicators such as the LED.

The cartridge 104 can be formed of a cartridge shell 216 enclosing areservoir 218 that is in fluid communication with a liquid transportelement 220 adapted to wick or otherwise transport an aerosol precursorcomposition stored in the reservoir housing to a heater 222 (sometimesreferred to as a heating element). In some example, a valve may bepositioned between the reservoir and heater, and configured to controlan amount of aerosol precursor composition passed or delivered from thereservoir to the heater.

Various examples of materials configured to produce heat when electricalcurrent is applied therethrough may be employed to form the heater 222.The heater in these examples may be resistive heating element such as awire coil. Example materials from which the wire coil may be formedinclude Kanthal (FeCrAl), Nichrome, Molybdenum disilicide (MoSi₂),molybdenum silicide (MoSi), Molybdenum disilicide doped with Aluminum(Mo(Si,Al)₂), graphite and graphite-based materials (e.g., carbon-basedfoams and yarns) and ceramics (e.g., positive or negative temperaturecoefficient ceramics).

Example implementations of heaters or heating members useful in aerosoldelivery devices according to the present disclosure are furtherdescribed below, and can be incorporated into devices such asillustrated in FIG. 2 as described herein.

An opening 224 may be present in the cartridge shell 216 (e.g., at themouthend) to allow for egress of formed aerosol from the cartridge 104.Such components are representative of the components that may be presentin a cartridge and are not intended to limit the scope of cartridgecomponents that are encompassed by the present disclosure.

The cartridge 104 also may include one or more electronic components226, which may include an integrated circuit, a memory component, asensor, or the like. The electronic components may be adapted tocommunicate with the control component 208 and/or with an externaldevice by wired or wireless means. The electronic components may bepositioned anywhere within the cartridge or a base 228 thereof.

Although the control component 208 and the flow sensor 210 areillustrated separately, it is understood that the control component andthe flow sensor may be combined as an electronic circuit board with theair flow sensor attached directly thereto. Further, the electroniccircuit board may be positioned horizontally relative the illustrationof FIG. 1 in that the electronic circuit board can be lengthwiseparallel to the central axis of the control body. In some examples, theair flow sensor may comprise its own circuit board or other base elementto which it can be attached. In some examples, a flexible circuit boardmay be utilized. A flexible circuit board may be configured into avariety of shapes, include substantially tubular shapes. In someexamples, a flexible circuit board may be combined with, layered onto,or form part or all of a heater substrate as further described below.

The control body 102 and the cartridge 104 may include componentsadapted to facilitate a fluid engagement therebetween. As illustrated inFIG. 2, the control body can include a coupler 230 having a cavity 232therein. The base 228 of the cartridge can be adapted to engage thecoupler and can include a projection 234 adapted to fit within thecavity. Such engagement can facilitate a stable connection between thecontrol body and the cartridge as well as establish an electricalconnection between the battery 212 and control component 208 in thecontrol body and the heater 222 in the cartridge. Further, the controlbody shell 206 can include an air intake 236, which may be a notch inthe shell where it connects to the coupler that allows for passage ofambient air around the coupler and into the shell where it then passesthrough the cavity 232 of the coupler and into the cartridge through theprojection 234.

A coupler and a base useful according to the present disclosure aredescribed in U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2014/0261495 to Novak et al., whichis incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. For example, thecoupler 230 as seen in FIG. 2 may define an outer periphery 238configured to mate with an inner periphery 240 of the base 228. In oneexample the inner periphery of the base may define a radius that issubstantially equal to, or slightly greater than, a radius of the outerperiphery of the coupler. Further, the coupler may define one or moreprotrusions 242 at the outer periphery configured to engage one or morerecesses 244 defined at the inner periphery of the base. However,various other examples of structures, shapes and components may beemployed to couple the base to the coupler. In some examples theconnection between the base of the cartridge 104 and the coupler of thecontrol body 102 may be substantially permanent, whereas in otherexamples the connection therebetween may be releasable such that, forexample, the control body may be reused with one or more additionalcartridges that may be disposable and/or refillable.

The aerosol delivery device 100 may be substantially rod-like orsubstantially tubular shaped or substantially cylindrically shaped insome examples. In other examples, further shapes and dimensions areencompassed—e.g., a rectangular or triangular cross-section,multifaceted shapes, or the like.

The reservoir 218 illustrated in FIG. 2 can be a container or can be afibrous reservoir, as presently described. For example, the reservoircan comprise one or more layers of nonwoven fibers substantially formedinto the shape of a tube encircling the interior of the cartridge shell216, in this example. An aerosol precursor composition can be retainedin the reservoir. Liquid components, for example, can be sorptivelyretained by the reservoir. The reservoir can be in fluid connection withthe liquid transport element 220. The liquid transport element cantransport the aerosol precursor composition stored in the reservoir viacapillary action to the heater 222 that is in the form of a metal wirecoil in this example. As such, the heater is in a heating arrangementwith the liquid transport element. Example implementations of reservoirsand transport elements useful in aerosol delivery devices according tothe present disclosure are further described below, and such reservoirsand/or transport elements can be incorporated into devices such asillustrated in FIG. 2 as described herein. In particular, specificcombinations of heating members and transport elements as furtherdescribed below may be incorporated into devices such as illustrated inFIG. 2 as described herein.

In use, when a user draws on the aerosol delivery device 100, airflow isdetected by the flow sensor 210, and the heater 222 is activated tovaporize components of the aerosol precursor composition. Drawing uponthe mouthend of the aerosol delivery device causes ambient air to enterthe air intake 236 and pass through the cavity 232 in the coupler 230and the central opening in the projection 234 of the base 228. In thecartridge 104, the drawn air combines with the formed vapor to form anaerosol. The aerosol is whisked, aspirated or otherwise drawn away fromthe heater and out the opening 224 in the mouthend of the aerosoldelivery device.

In some examples, the aerosol delivery device 100 may include a numberof additional software-controlled functions. For example, the aerosoldelivery device may include a battery protection circuit configured todetect battery input, loads on the battery terminals, and charginginput. The battery protection circuit may include short-circuitprotection and under-voltage lock out. The aerosol delivery device mayalso include components for ambient temperature measurement, and itscontrol component 208 may be configured to control at least onefunctional element to inhibit battery charging if the ambienttemperature is below a certain temperature (e.g., 0° C.) or above acertain temperature (e.g., 45° C.) prior to start of charging or duringcharging.

Power delivery from the battery 212 may vary over the course of eachpuff on the device 100 according to a power control mechanism. Thedevice may include a “long puff” safety timer such that in the eventthat a user or an inadvertent mechanism causes the device to attempt topuff continuously, the control component 208 may control at least onefunctional element to terminate the puff automatically after some periodof time (e.g., four seconds). Further, the time between puffs on thedevice may be restricted to less than a period of time (e.g., 100). Awatchdog safety timer may automatically reset the aerosol deliverydevice if its control component or software running on it becomesunstable and does not service the timer within an appropriate timeinterval (e.g., eight seconds). Further safety protection may beprovided in the event of a defective or otherwise failed flow sensor210, such as by permanently disabling the aerosol delivery device inorder to prevent inadvertent heating. A puffing limit switch maydeactivate the device in the event of a pressure sensor fail causing thedevice to continuously activate without stopping after the four secondmaximum puff time.

The aerosol delivery device 100 may include a puff tracking algorithmconfigured for heater lockout once a defined number of puffs has beenachieved for an attached cartridge (based on the number of availablepuffs calculated in light of the e-liquid charge in the cartridge). Theaerosol delivery device may include a sleep, standby or low-power modefunction whereby power delivery may be automatically cut off after adefined period of non-use. Further safety protection may be provided inthat all charge/discharge cycles of the battery 212 may be monitored bythe control component 208 over its lifetime. After the battery hasattained the equivalent of a predetermined number (e.g., 200) fulldischarge and full recharge cycles, it may be declared depleted, and thecontrol component may control at least one functional element to preventfurther charging of the battery.

The various components of an aerosol delivery device according to thepresent disclosure can be chosen from components described in the artand commercially available. Examples of batteries that can be usedaccording to the disclosure are described in U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No.2010/0028766 to Peckerar et al., which is incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

The aerosol delivery device 100 can incorporate the sensor 210 oranother sensor or detector for control of supply of electric power tothe heater 222 when aerosol generation is desired (e.g., upon drawduring use). As such, for example, there is provided a manner or methodof turning off the power supply to the heater when the aerosol deliverydevice is not be drawn upon during use, and for turning on the powersupply to actuate or trigger the generation of heat by the heater duringdraw. Additional representative types of sensing or detectionmechanisms, structure and configuration thereof, components thereof, andgeneral methods of operation thereof, are described in U.S. Pat. No.5,261,424 to Sprinkel, Jr., U.S. Pat. No. 5,372,148 to McCafferty etal., and PCT Pat. App. Pub. No. WO 2010/003480 to Flick, all of whichare incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

The aerosol delivery device 100 most preferably incorporates the controlcomponent 208 or another control mechanism for controlling the amount ofelectric power to the heater 222 during draw. Representative types ofelectronic components, structure and configuration thereof, featuresthereof, and general methods of operation thereof, are described in U.S.Pat. No. 4,735,217 to Gerth et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,947,874 to Brooks etal., U.S. Pat. No. 5,372,148 to McCafferty et al., U.S. Pat. No.6,040,560 to Fleischhauer et al., U.S. Pat. No. 7,040,314 to Nguyen etal., U.S. Pat. No. 8,205,622 to Pan, U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No.2009/0230117 to Fernando et al., U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2014/0060554 toCollet et al., U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2014/0270727 to Ampolini et al.,and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/209,191 to Henry et al., filedMar. 13, 2014, all of which are incorporated herein by reference intheir entireties.

Representative types of substrates, reservoirs or other components forsupporting the aerosol precursor are described in U.S. Pat. No.8,528,569 to Newton, U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2014/0261487 to Chapman etal., U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/011,992 to Davis et al., filedAug. 28, 2013, and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/170,838 to Blesset al., filed Feb. 3, 2014, all of which are incorporated herein byreference in their entireties. Additionally, various wicking materials,and the configuration and operation of those wicking materials withincertain types of electronic cigarettes, are set forth in U.S. Pat. App.Pub. No. 2014/0209105 to Sears et al., which is incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

The aerosol precursor composition, also referred to as a vapor precursorcomposition, may comprise a variety of components including, by way ofexample, a polyhydric alcohol (e.g., glycerin, propylene glycol or amixture thereof), nicotine, tobacco, tobacco extract and/or flavorants.Various components that may be included in the aerosol precursorcomposition are described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,726,320 to Robinson et al.,which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Additionalrepresentative types of aerosol precursor compositions are set forth inU.S. Pat. No. 4,793,365 to Sensabaugh, Jr. et al., U.S. Pat. No.5,101,839 to Jakob et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,779,531 to Biggs et al., U.S.Pat. App. Pub. No. 2013/0008457 to Zheng et al., and Chemical andBiological Studies on New Cigarette Prototypes that Heat Instead of BurnTobacco, R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company Monograph (1988), all of whichare incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

Additional representative types of components that yield visual cues orindicators may be employed in the aerosol delivery device 100, such asvisual indicators and related components, audio indicators, hapticindicators and the like. Examples of suitable LED components, and theconfigurations and uses thereof, are described in U.S. Pat. No.5,154,192 to Sprinkel et al., U.S. Pat. No. 8,499,766 to Newton, U.S.Pat. No. 8,539,959 to Scatterday, and U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/173,266 to Sears et al., filed Feb. 5, 2014, all of which areincorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

Yet other features, controls or components that can be incorporated intoaerosol delivery devices of the present disclosure are described in U.S.Pat. No. 5,967,148 to Harris et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,934,289 to Watkinset al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,954,979 to Counts et al., U.S. Pat. No.6,040,560 to Fleischhauer et al., U.S. Pat. No. 8,365,742 to Hon, U.S.Pat. No. 8,402,976 to Fernando et al., U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No.2005/0016550 to Katase, U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2010/0163063 to Fernandoet al., U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2013/0192623 to Tucker et al., U.S. Pat.App. Pub. No. 2013/0298905 to Leven et al., U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No.2013/0180553 to Kim et al., U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2014/0000638 toSebastian et al., U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2014/0261495 to Novak et al.,and U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2014/0261408 to DePiano et al., all of whichare incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

The control component 208 includes a number of electronic components,and in some examples may be formed of a printed circuit board (PCB) thatsupports and electrically connects the electronic components. Theelectronic components may include a microprocessor or processor core,and a memory. In some examples, the control component may include amicrocontroller with integrated processor core and memory, and which mayfurther include one or more integrated input/output peripherals. In someexamples, the control component may be coupled to a communicationinterface to enable wireless communication with one or more networks,computing devices or other appropriately-enabled devices. Examples ofsuitable communication interfaces are disclosed in U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 14/638,562, filed Mar. 4, 2015, to Marion et al.,the content of which is incorporated by reference in its entirety. Andexamples of suitable manners according to which the aerosol deliverydevice may be configured to wirelessly communicate are disclosed in U.S.patent application Ser. No. 14/327,776, filed Jul. 10, 2014, to Ampoliniet al., and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/609,032, filed Jan. 29,2015, to Henry, Jr. et al., each of which is incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

In accordance with some example implementations, the control component208 may be configured to control of one or more functional elements ofthe aerosol delivery device 100 in different states of the device, anddepending on whether the control body 102 is coupled or uncoupled withthe cartridge 104. For example, the control component may be configuredto control one or more components that yield visual cues or indicatorsin response to a coupling of the control body with the cartridge, and/orin response to an uncoupling of the control body with the cartridge.FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate a coupling and uncoupling of the control bodywith the cartridge in a standby mode, and FIG. 5 illustrates the controlbody coupled with the cartridge in an active mode.

As shown in FIGS. 3-5, the control body 102 may include a (first)positive conductor 302 and a (first) negative conductor 304 connectablewith the battery 212 (power supply). The control body may likewiseinclude a (second) positive conductor 306 and a (second) negativeconductor 308 connectable with the heater 222 (heating element). Thecontrol component 208 may include a microprocessor 310 and a number ofelectrical components, such as resistors, capacitors, switches and thelike, which may be coupled with the battery and heater to form anelectrical circuit. As shown, for example, the control component mayinclude a series pull-up resistor R1 and switch Q1 connected to andbetween the first positive conductor and second positive conductor, withthe switch being connected to and between the pull-up resistor andsecond positive conductor.

The microprocessor 310 may be configured to operate the switch Q1 in aclosed state in a standby mode in which the pull-up resistor R1 isconfigured to cause a logical high level of voltage at the secondpositive conductor 306 when the control body 102 is uncoupled with thecartridge 104. Also in the standby mode, the heater 222 may be unpoweredand cause a logical low level of the voltage at the second positiveconductor when the control body is coupled with the cartridge. That is,when the control body is uncoupled with the cartridge, the pull-upresistor may be configured to pull the voltage at the second positiveconductor toward the positive battery (power supply) voltage for thelogical high level. When the control body is coupled with the cartridge,on the other hand, the voltage at the second positive conductor maycorrespond to an approximately zero positive heater voltage for thelogical low level. In this instance, the heater in the standby mode isessentially a short to the second negative conductor 308. A voltagedivider may be formed between R1 (e.g., 10 s of kΩ) and the heaterresistance (e.g., <10Ω), which may result in a positive heater voltageat the second positive conductor of approximately zero volts.

In accordance with example implementations of the present disclosure,the microprocessor 310 may be configured to measure the voltage at thesecond positive conductor 306 and control operation of at least onefunctional element of the aerosol delivery device 100 based thereon. Insome examples, the microprocessor may operate on the actual voltage atthe second positive conductor, or the control component 208 ormicroprocessor may include an analog-to-digital converter (ADC)configured to convert the actual voltage to a digital equivalent.

As shown in FIG. 3, in one example, the microprocessor 310 may beconfigured to control operation of a functional element in response to acoupling of the control body 102 with the cartridge 104 that causes thevoltage at the second positive conductor 306 to decrease from thelogical high level to the logical low level. In another example, asshown in FIG. 4, the microprocessor may be configured to controloperation of a functional element in response to an uncoupling of thecontrol body with the cartridge that causes the voltage at the secondpositive conductor to increase from the logical low level to the logicalhigh level. In either example, the functional element may be anindicator 312 such as a visual, audio or haptic indicator.

In some examples, the microprocessor 310 may include an ADC configuredto convert the actual voltage to a digital equivalent, and this ADC maybe rated for a maximum voltage less than the maximum that may be presentat the second positive conductor 306. In these examples, the controlcomponent 208 may further include a voltage divider 314 configured toreduce the voltage to the microprocessor. As shown, for example, thevoltage divider may include resistors R2 and R3, and may be connected toand between the second positive conductor and microprocessor, referencedto ground. The microprocessor may be configured to measure the voltageat the second positive conductor from the voltage divider. In thisregard, the voltage divider may include an output connected to themicroprocessor and from which the microprocessor may be configured tomeasure the voltage at the second positive conductor. The controlcomponent of the control body may further include a capacitor C1connected to and between the output and ground. And further, the controlcomponent may include a second switch Q2 connected to and between thevoltage divider and ground, which the microprocessor may be configuredto operate in an open state in the standby mode.

The aerosol delivery device 100 and more particularly the controlcomponent 102 may be in the standby mode when the control component isuncoupled with the cartridge 104. Similarly, the aerosol delivery devicemay be in the standby mode when the control component is coupled withthe cartridge between puffs on the device. When the user draws on thedevice and the flow sensor 210 detects airflow, the aerosol deliverydevice may be placed in the active mode during which power from thebattery 212 may be directed through the sensor to power the heater 222to activate and vaporize components of the aerosol precursorcomposition. In another example, power from the battery may moredirectly power the heater without going through the sensor (without thesensor being in-line), although the flow sensor may still detect airflowwhen the user draws on the device. As indicated above, power deliveryfrom the battery 212 may vary according to a power control mechanism;and in some examples, this power control mechanism may depend on ameasured voltage at the second positive conductor 306.

As shown in FIG. 5, in the active mode in which the control body 102 iscoupled with the cartridge 104, the microprocessor 310 may be configuredto operate the switch Q1 in an open state, and operate the second switchQ2 in a closed state. In this mode, the microprocessor may be configuredto direct power to the heater 222 to activate and vaporize components ofthe aerosol precursor composition. The voltage at the second positiveconductor 306 may correspond to a positive heater voltage. Themicroprocessor may be configured to measure the positive heater voltage,such as from the voltage divider 314, and control the power directed tothe heater based thereon.

In some more particular examples, the microprocessor 310 may beconfigured to direct power from the battery 212 (e.g., directly orthrough the flow sensor 210) to turn the heater 222 on andcommensurately initiate a heating time period. This may include, forexample, a further switch Q3 between the battery (or in-line flowsensor) and the heater, which the microprocessor may operate in a closedstate, as shown in FIG. 5. The microprocessor may then adjust the powerdirected to the heater based on the voltage at the second positiveconductor 306, at a periodic rate until expiration of the heating timeperiod.

In some examples, this adjustment of power directed to the heater 222may include the microprocessor 310 being configured to determine amoving window of measurements of instantaneous actual power directed tothe heater, with each measurement of the window of measurements beingdetermined as a product of the positive heater voltage and a currentthrough the heater. This current may be measured in a number ofdifferent manners, such as from a current-sense resistor R4. In someexamples, the microprocessor may operate on the actual current throughthe heater, or the control component 208 or microprocessor may includean ADC configured to convert the actual current to a digital equivalent.

The microprocessor 310 may calculate a simple moving average powerdirected to the heater 222 based on the moving window of measurements ofinstantaneous actual power, and compare the simple moving average powerto a selected power set point associated with the battery 212. Themicroprocessor may then adjust the power directed to the heater so as toturn the heater off or on at the periodic rate at each instance in whichthe simple moving average power is respectively above or below theselected power set point. More information regarding aspects of thecontrol component according to example implementations of the presentdisclosure may be found in the above-cited and incorporated U.S. Pat.App. Pub. No. 2014/0270727 to Ampolini et al.

As shown in FIG. 6, in some examples, the cartridge 104 may also includean authentication device 602 (e.g., a Texas Instruments Model bq26150authentication IC) to deter or prevent counterfeit cartridges from beingused with the control body 102. The control body may include a (third)positive conductor 604 connectable with an output of the authenticationdevice, from which the microprocessor may be configured to authenticatethe cartridge for use with the control body. The cartridge may furtherinclude a capacitor C2 connected to and between the output of theauthentication device and ground. Although not separately shown, anadditional memory unit associated with the authentication device may beused to store a depletion amount of the cartridge unit, as well as tostore other programmable features and information associated with thecartridge unit. Again, more information regarding authenticationaccording to aspects of the present disclosure may be found in theabove-cited and incorporated U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2014/0270727 toAmpolini et al.

In some even further examples, the authentication device 602 instead ofthe heater 222 may be further useful for the microprocessor 310 tocontrol operation of the functional element (e.g., indicator 312) inresponse to at least a coupling of the control body 102 with thecartridge 104. As shown in FIG. 7, in these examples, the controlcomponent may be implemented without switches Q1 and Q2 and capacitorC1, and the pull-up resistor R1 may be connected to the output of theauthentication device. When the control body is uncoupled with thecartridge (in the standby mode), the pull-up resistor R1 is configuredto cause a logical high level of voltage at the third positive conductor604. That is, the pull-up resistor may be configured to pull the voltageat the third positive conductor toward the positive battery (powersupply) voltage for the logical high level.

Also when the control body 102 is uncoupled with the cartridge 104, theauthentication device 602 and the capacitor C2 connected to its outputare respectively unpowered and uncharged. A coupling of the control bodywith the cartridge causes the voltage at the third positive conductor604 to initially decrease from the logical high level to a logical lowlevel corresponding to the approximately zero voltage of the capacitor.In response to this initial decrease in voltage at the third positiveconductor, the microprocessor may be configured to control operation ofa functional element. After the initial decrease in voltage at the thirdpositive conductor, the positive battery (power supply) voltage maycharge the capacitor to its final value, which may cause a correspondingincrease in voltage at the third positive conductor.

FIG. 8 illustrates various operations in a method 800 of controlling thecontrol body 102 coupleable with the cartridge 104 that is equipped withthe heater 222 (heating element) and contains an aerosol precursorcomposition. As shown in block 802, the method includes operating theswitch Q1 in a closed state in a standby mode in which the pull-upresistor R1 is configured to cause a logical high level of voltage atthe second positive conductor 306 when the control body is uncoupledwith the cartridge. Also in the standby mode, the heater is unpoweredcauses a logical low level of the voltage at the second positiveconductor when the control body is coupled with the cartridge. Themethod also includes measuring the voltage at the second positiveconductor, and controlling operation of at least one functional elementof the aerosol delivery device based on the voltage measured at thesecond positive conductor, as shown in blocks 804 and 806.

In some examples, controlling operation of the at least one functionalelement includes controlling operation of the at least one functionalelement in response to a coupling of the control body 102 with thecartridge 104 that causes the voltage at the second positive conductor306 to decrease from the logical high level to the logical low level. Insome examples, controlling operation of the at least one functionalelement includes controlling operation of the at least one functionalelement in response to an uncoupling of the control body with thecartridge that causes the voltage at the second positive conductor toincrease from the logical low level to the logical high level. And insome examples, controlling operation of at least one functional elementincludes controlling operation of at least one visual, audio or hapticindicator 312.

In some examples, the control body 102 further includes a voltagedivider 314 connected to the second positive conductor and referenced toground. In these examples, measuring the voltage at the second positiveconductor may include measuring the voltage from the voltage divider.

In some examples, the control body 102 further includes a second switchQ2 connected to and between the voltage divider 314 and ground. In theseexamples, the method may further include operating the second switch inan open state in the standby mode.

In some further examples, the voltage divider 314 may include an output,and the control body 102 may further include a capacitor C1 connected toand between the output and ground. In these examples, measuring thevoltage at the second positive conductor 306 may include measuring thevoltage from the output of the voltage divider. In some examples, themethod further includes operating the switch Q1 in an open state in anactive mode in which the control body 102 is coupled with the cartridge104. In these examples, in the active mode, the method may even furtherinclude directing power to the heater 222 to activate and vaporizecomponents of the aerosol precursor composition, with the voltage at thesecond positive conductor corresponds to a positive heater voltage. Andin the active mode, the method may include measuring the positive heatervoltage, and controlling the power directed to the heater based thereon.

In some examples in which the control body 102 further includes thevoltage divider 314, measuring the positive heater voltage includesmeasuring the positive heating element voltage from the voltage divider.In these examples, the method may further include operating the secondswitch Q2 in a closed state in the active mode.

In some examples, directing power to the heater 222 and controlling thepower directed to the heater includes at least directing power from thebattery 212 to turn the heater on and commensurately initiate a heatingtime period. And at a periodic rate until expiration of the heating timeperiod, the method may include determining a moving window ofmeasurements of instantaneous actual power directed to the heater, witheach measurement of the window of measurements being determined as aproduct of the positive heater voltage and a current through the heater.The method may include calculating a simple moving average powerdirected to the heater based on the moving window of measurements ofinstantaneous actual power, and comparing the simple moving averagepower to a selected power set point associated with the battery. And themethod may include adjusting the power directed to the heater so as toturn the heater off or on at the periodic rate at each instance in whichthe simple moving average power is respectively above or below theselected power set point.

The foregoing description of use of the article(s) can be applied to thevarious example implementations described herein through minormodifications, which can be apparent to the person of skill in the artin light of the further disclosure provided herein. The abovedescription of use, however, is not intended to limit the use of thearticle but is provided to comply with all necessary requirements ofdisclosure of the present disclosure. Any of the elements shown in thearticle(s) illustrated in FIGS. 1-8 or as otherwise described above maybe included in an aerosol delivery device according to the presentdisclosure.

Many modifications and other implementations of the disclosure set forthherein will come to mind to one skilled in the art to which thesedisclosure pertain having the benefit of the teachings presented in theforegoing descriptions and the associated drawings. Therefore, it is tobe understood that the disclosure are not to be limited to the specificimplementations disclosed and that modifications and otherimplementations are intended to be included within the scope of theappended claims. Moreover, although the foregoing descriptions and theassociated drawings describe example implementations in the context ofcertain example combinations of elements and/or functions, it should beappreciated that different combinations of elements and/or functions maybe provided by alternative implementations without departing from thescope of the appended claims. In this regard, for example, differentcombinations of elements and/or functions than those explicitlydescribed above are also contemplated as may be set forth in some of theappended claims. Although specific terms are employed herein, they areused in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes oflimitation.

What is claimed is:
 1. A control body coupleable with a cartridge thatis equipped with a heating element and contains an aerosol precursorcomposition, the control body being coupleable with the cartridge toform an aerosol delivery device in which the heating element isconfigured to activate and vaporize components of the aerosol precursorcomposition, the control body comprising: a first positive conductorconnectable with a power supply; a second positive conductor connectablewith the heating element; a series pull-up resistor and switch connectedto and between the first positive conductor and second positiveconductor, the switch being connected to and between the pull-upresistor and second positive conductor; and a microprocessor configuredto operate the switch in a closed state in a standby mode in which thepull-up resistor is configured to cause a logical high level of voltageat the second positive conductor when the control body is uncoupled withthe cartridge, and in which the heating element is unpowered and causesa logical low level of the voltage at the second positive conductor whenthe control body is coupled with the cartridge, wherein themicroprocessor is configured to measure the voltage at the secondpositive conductor and control operation of at least one functionalelement of the aerosol delivery device based thereon.
 2. The controlbody of claim 1, wherein the microprocessor being configured to controloperation of the at least one functional element includes beingconfigured to control operation of the at least one functional elementin response to a coupling of the control body with the cartridge thatcauses the voltage at the second positive conductor to decrease from thelogical high level to the logical low level.
 3. The control body ofclaim 1, wherein the microprocessor being configured to controloperation of the at least one functional element includes beingconfigured to control operation of the at least one functional elementin response to an uncoupling of the control body with the cartridge thatcauses the voltage at the second positive conductor to increase from thelogical low level to the logical high level.
 4. The control body ofclaim 1, wherein the microprocessor being configured to controloperation of at least one functional element includes being configuredto control operation of at least one visual, audio or haptic indicator.5. The control body of claim 1 further comprising a voltage dividerconnected to and between the second positive conductor andmicroprocessor, referenced to ground, and from which the microprocessoris configured to measure the voltage at the second positive conductor.6. The control body of claim 5 further comprising a second switchconnected to and between the voltage divider and ground, themicroprocessor being configured to operate the second switch in an openstate in the standby mode.
 7. The control body of claim 5, wherein thevoltage divider includes an output connected to the microprocessor andfrom which the microprocessor is configured to measure the voltage atthe second positive conductor, and the control body further comprises acapacitor connected to and between the output and ground.
 8. The controlbody of claim 1, wherein the microprocessor is further configured tooperate the switch in an open state in an active mode in which thecontrol body is coupled with the cartridge, the microprocessor isconfigured to direct power to the heating element to activate andvaporize components of the aerosol precursor composition, and in whichthe voltage at the second positive conductor corresponds to a positiveheating element voltage, and wherein in the active mode, themicroprocessor is configured to measure the positive heating elementvoltage and control the power directed to the heating element basedthereon.
 9. The control body of claim 8 further comprising: a voltagedivider connected to and between the second positive conductor andmicroprocessor, referenced to ground, and from which the microprocessoris configured to measure the positive heating element voltage; and asecond switch connected to and between the voltage divider and ground,the microprocessor being configured to operate the second switch in aclosed state in the active mode.
 10. The control body of claim 8,wherein the microprocessor being configured to direct power to theheating element and control the power directed to the heating elementincludes being configured to at least: direct power from a power sourceto turn the heating element on and commensurately initiate a heatingtime period; and at a periodic rate until expiration of the heating timeperiod, determine a moving window of measurements of instantaneousactual power directed to the heating element, each measurement of thewindow of measurements being determined as a product of the positiveheating element voltage and a current through the heating element;calculate a simple moving average power directed to the heating elementbased on the moving window of measurements of instantaneous actualpower; compare the simple moving average power to a selected power setpoint associated with the power source; and adjust the power directed tothe heating element so as to turn the heating element off or on at theperiodic rate at each instance in which the simple moving average poweris respectively above or below the selected power set point.
 11. Amethod of controlling a control body coupleable with a cartridge that isequipped with a heating element and contains an aerosol precursorcomposition, the control body being coupleable with the cartridge toform an aerosol delivery device in which the heating element isconfigured to activate and vaporize components of the aerosol precursorcomposition, the control body including a first positive conductorconnectable with a power supply, a second positive conductor connectablewith the heating element, and a series pull-up resistor and switchconnected to and between the first positive conductor and secondpositive conductor, the switch being connected to and between thepull-up resistor and second positive conductor, the method comprising:operating the switch in a closed state in a standby mode in which thepull-up resistor is configured to cause a logical high level of voltageat the second positive conductor when the control body is uncoupled withthe cartridge, and in which the heating element is unpowered and causesa logical low level of the voltage at the second positive conductor whenthe control body is coupled with the cartridge; measuring the voltage atthe second positive conductor; and controlling operation of at least onefunctional element of the aerosol delivery device based on the voltagemeasured at the second positive conductor.
 12. The method of claim 11,wherein controlling operation of the at least one functional elementincludes controlling operation of the at least one functional element inresponse to a coupling of the control body with the cartridge thatcauses the voltage at the second positive conductor to decrease from thelogical high level to the logical low level.
 13. The method of claim 11,wherein controlling operation of the at least one functional elementincludes controlling operation of the at least one functional element inresponse to an uncoupling of the control body with the cartridge thatcauses the voltage at the second positive conductor to increase from thelogical low level to the logical high level.
 14. The method of claim 11,wherein controlling operation of at least one functional elementincludes controlling operation of at least one visual, audio or hapticindicator.
 15. The method of claim 11, wherein the control body furtherincludes a voltage divider connected to the second positive conductorand referenced to ground, and wherein measuring the voltage at thesecond positive conductor includes measuring the voltage from thevoltage divider.
 16. The method of claim 15, wherein the control bodyfurther includes a second switch connected to and between the voltagedivider and ground, and wherein the method further comprises operatingthe second switch in an open state in the standby mode.
 17. The methodof claim 15, wherein the voltage divider includes an output, and thecontrol body further comprises a capacitor connected to and between theoutput and ground, and wherein measuring the voltage at the secondpositive conductor includes measuring the voltage from the output of thevoltage divider.
 18. The method of claim 11 further comprising:operating the switch in an open state in an active mode in which thecontrol body is coupled with the cartridge; and in which the methodfurther comprises, directing power to the heating element to activateand vaporize components of the aerosol precursor composition, and inwhich the voltage at the second positive conductor corresponds to apositive heating element voltage; measuring the positive heating elementvoltage; and controlling the power directed to the heating element basedthereon.
 19. The method of claim 18, wherein the control body furtherincludes a voltage divider connected to the second positive conductorand referenced to ground, and includes a second switch connected to andbetween the voltage divider and ground, wherein measuring the positiveheating element voltage includes measuring the positive heating elementvoltage from the voltage divider, and wherein the method furthercomprises operating the second switch in a closed state in the activemode.
 20. The method body of claim 18, wherein directing power to theheating element and controlling the power directed to the heatingelement includes at least: directing power from a power source to turnthe heating element on and commensurately initiate a heating timeperiod; and at a periodic rate until expiration of the heating timeperiod, determining a moving window of measurements of instantaneousactual power directed to the heating element, each measurement of thewindow of measurements being determined as a product of the positiveheating element voltage and a current through the heating element;calculating a simple moving average power directed to the heatingelement based on the moving window of measurements of instantaneousactual power; comparing the simple moving average power to a selectedpower set point associated with the power source; and adjusting thepower directed to the heating element so as to turn the heating elementoff or on at the periodic rate at each instance in which the simplemoving average power is respectively above or below the selected powerset point.